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Tell the story of what is happening to people of the Nuba Mountains
- News on the Net By Paulette Cooper Monday, February 13, 2012
I have the opportunity to talk to people in the Nuba Mountains about once per week. Here is just a small portion of what they tell me. I had asked her earlier, “What is your biggest need?” She answered, “Food.” “What did you eat today?” I asked. “Leaves. And a little bit of sorghum,” was her reply. When we talked it was night in the Nuba Mountains. That was all she had to eat all day. Her words still echo in my mind. I look at my kitchen filled with a variety of food and remember her words. “Leaves. And a little bit of sorghum.” I look at the food from grocery stores and restaurants that is thrown away and wasted. I am sickened. She is eating leaves. And a little bit of sorghum. How do we as a world community allow this to happen? The women flee to the caves to escape the bombs and missiles. They give birth in the caves. One woman gave birth by the side of a stream. They had to cut the umbilical cord with the sharpest rock they could find. The people of the Nuba Mountains talk to me about the “voice of the bomb” and the “voice of the missile.” Another woman told me how hard it was to choose. The choice? Should she eat the little bit of food that was there so the baby growing inside her could be nourished, or should she feed her other children who were standing by her side hungry and waiting? How horrifying to have to make that kind of choice. They do everyday. The roads to the villages are blocked. Humanitarian aid is not allowed in. Markets are closed because there is no food and bombs and missiles fall where people gather. Malaria is rampant. The drugs that are taken for the disease must be taken with food. There is no food. The United Nations says that by March, the Nuba People will be facing a famine. Once again the world stands by watching all the while saying the same old thing, “Not on my watch!” Who will be the voice for these people? Who will speak for them? I believe that each person always makes a difference. Tell the story of what is happening to people of the Nuba Mountains to at least one other person and ask them to tell another. Word will spread. Contact the UN. Make a difference. You can do it.
Paulette Cooper
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